By Nicarlyle Hanchard / Jambar Contributor
Rentals are a source of revenue for businesses, and Youngstown State University is no different. In 2023, YSU’s Athletic Department brought in over $64,000 from its facility rentals.
YSU has seven sporting facilities, which are often rented by outside schools to host its home games. The facilities open for rental are the Beede Football Field in Stambaugh Stadium, the Watson and Tressel Training Site, Cafaro Family Field, Farmers National Bank Field, the YSU Softball Complex and the YSU Indoor Tennis Center.
Beede Field brought in over $38,000 — the most out of the seven facilities.
Miles Bergner, manager of YSU’s athletic facilities and programs, said the school has been renting its current facilities since their inception. The WATTS, Farmers National Bank and Cafaro fields were constructed in the early 2010s.
According to Bergner, Beede Field is rented for approximately 10 varsity football games annually.
High school football games have a flat rate of $3,500 per game. Regular pricing per hour is $200, while scholastic pricing is listed at $100 per hour.
“We have two high schools that share it, Cardinal Mooney [High School] and Ursuline High School. Beyond that, they also play their varsity soccer games at Farmers Bank National Field. Those two facilities are rented pretty frequently,” Bergner said.
Vince Taddei, director of communication and assistant football coach at Cardinal Mooney, said the Cardinals have played football games at YSU for decades.
“Historically, it was the 1983 football season. It was definitely in the early 1980s,” Taddei said.
Bergner said rentals are on a case-by-case basis.
“Trying to make this facility available for the community at the same time as our students here at YSU is always the challenge,” Bergner said.
The 2021 football season saw Cardinal Mooney’s temporary departure from renting YSU facilities for its home games.
“We went away in the 2021 season. For a couple of years, we played our football games at Mineral Ridge, and we returned this season for football,” Taddei said.
Taddei said the change of location came from wanting a change of atmosphere for its athletes.
“Just a little bit of a change of scenery. At the time, we wanted to go to a traditional high school football stadium to get a different experience for our students,” Taddei said. “But we realized that Youngstown brings a different kind of intensity, a different feel to the game, so we were happy to return.”
Bergner said the revenue from the rentals goes into the facilities’ upkeep. He also said YSU’s pricing is reasonable when compared to other rental facilities.
“We are not super heavily dependent on the funds raised from facility rentals. The majority of that money goes back into the facilities’ budget and for projects we have ongoing,” Bergner said.
Bergner also commented on the socio-economic status of the Youngstown community.
“We try to keep it modest. We recognize the economics of our community, and we try our best to stay within our boundaries,” Bergner said.
